People waited in line for more than an hour last week to sound off to the Lower Kuskokwim School District Board about the firing of two school bus drivers. The drivers claimed that the roads were too dangerous to drive on an icy Friday last November. The district decided to run its own bus service after turning down a bid from long time contractor Golden Eagle. Some say that's not working out so well.
Last week, parents called on the school board to give two fired Bethel bus drivers their jobs back, and to apologize. Supporters of the fired drivers packed into the district office lobby and waited for a little over an hour through an executive session to speak at the board's monthly meeting.
“I really hope that LKSD realizes their mistake, and they offer both Mr. Fox and JoeJoe Prince an apology and admit that they were wrong,” said Dalarie Peters, whose daughter goes to Bethel Regional High School.
“The school district thought we wouldn’t care, but they’re wrong. We do care, and I’m extremely, extremely disappointed. And I know this is the first year that LKSD has taken over the bus system so there’s gonna be growing pains. There is gonna be mistakes," said Peters.
The bus drivers were initially suspended after a disagreement with their supervisor, and then fired. Many came out to support them, including former Bethel Mayor Agnes Phillips, former city council member Nikki Pollock, and current city truck driver Clyde Erickson.
“By dismissing JoeJoe, a state certified instructor-trainer of six years, and Evon, a state certified instructor-trainer of three years, you are setting a precedent that the drivers will be fired for not driving,” Erickson said. “You are now creating a dangerous situation for our children as a result. I would suggest that if two experienced operators say it is unsafe, then you should have been reconsidered the rest of the drivers even going out.”
Erickson added that given Fox and Prince’s experience, the supervisor should have to listened to their judgment.
“They may make a determination due to the vehicle's abilities, their own abilities, or a combination of them. Even if the supervisor is experienced with the equipment, which I understand in this situation the supervisor is not, they still must respect the wishes of the individual and support a good decision that is safety-based," said Erickson.
One the fired bus drivers, Evon Fox, echoed that. He told the board his view of the events of the afternoon of November 30 that led up to his firing.
“At [November] 30, 2018, I made a statement of fact reporting the road conditions to be unsafe, and I communicated this to my supervisor with our two-way radio,” Fox said.
The supervisor is LKSD Operations Director Ed Pekar. Fox later told KYUK that on the Friday in question it was warm and raining, and in making his first round to safely drop off 45 to 50 students, he had to slow down considerably to manage the slippery glare ice. After radioing in that conditions weren’t safe, Fox says that Pekar radioed him back to chain his bus' tires up. Fox says that he and another driver, JoeJoe Prince, refused, so Pekar told him to park his bus and come in.
“And when we got there he said, ‘okay, you have two choices: chain up or be fired.’ And when we refused he says, ‘okay, you guys are fired. Go home,’” Fox recalled.
Fox told the school board that he made a "safety call" that chaining up would be unsafe. Fox worked for 11 years as a certified commercially licensed driver with Golden Eagle, the prior bus contractor.
“I did not want to be the cause of any substantial factors in producing any damage that is highly preventable. I feel I was wrongly disregarded, correction, discharged for preventing a violation of public safety for exercising a right within my scope of duty. I thank you for your time, and please reconsider me back as a school bus driver. Thank you,” said Fox, as he finished with several audience members applauding.
Board president Clarence Daniel responded with a prepared message confirming that the board was aware of the matter.
“The board cannot engage in public comment about particular personnel matters due to the right of privacy that is owed to district employees present and past,” Daniel said. “Any concerns regarding personnel matters are referred to the superintendent for consideration.”
Currently unemployed, Fox says that he is awaiting a response from the district before taking further action. JoeJoe Prince, now employed by KYUK Radio, has chosen not to comment on the situation. When reached by KYUK, the school district gave the same response it gave at the meeting, adding that public comments and concerns can be submitted to superintendent Dan Walker for review.